National Cash Register (NCR), the manufacturer of the talking checkouts in Britain’s food stores, has always refused to name the mystery woman.

But the Daily Star Sunday can reveal the sultry sound of the supermarket self-service machine is voiceover star Helena Breck.

Helena, an actress who has appeared on EastEnders, lists being the voice of NCR’s talking tills on her website.

It reads: “Helena voices Odeon/UCI Cinemas ‘Filmline’ IVR telephone ordering system and can be heard on NCR’s ‘talking checkout’ for Tesco, Safeway and Asda.

“Helena has a wide playing range. She’s at home with both straight and character reads, hard-sell, soft-sell, speed reads, corporate style or narration and can be authoritative, bright and bubbly or smoothly seductive.”

The checkouts are used by five of the UK’s biggest ­supermarket chains, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer.

Helena has also worked for companies including Volvo, L’Oréal, Royal Mail and Mazda.

She appeared in EastEnders as Elizabeth Wilmott-Brown in 1994 and as Sandy McCormick in BBC soap Triangle in 1981.

“A survey by consumer firm Him!, found more than two-thirds of people complained self-scan tills always went wrong”

The talking tills have been criticised since they were rolled out across the UK in recent years, with many surveys revealing they are the ­bugbear of shoppers.

According to a survey by consumer firm Him!, more than two-thirds of people complained self-scan tills always went wrong.

Most of the 1,024 polled blamed it on problems “in the bagging area”.

A Facebook group echoing this frustration has more than 24,000 likes and the slogan “Unexpected item in the bagging area” is now so well-known it is even printed on T-shirts.

In 2012 it was the title of a book by author Chris Martin about the modern world.

Helena was coy when we approached her, saying: “I’ve long steered away from getting associated with specific jobs, as it can impinge on being booked for other work.

“I haven’t worked for NCR as the voice of their tills since 2009 and that wasn’t for UK work.”